President Donald Trump left Turkey last month on a secret military flight while the White House publicly maintained he was aboard Air Force One, according to reporting from the Washington Post that was later confirmed by the New York Times.
The operation unfolded as Trump wrapped up his visit to Ankara for a NATO summit of world leaders. A U.S. official told the Post that a credible threat to Trump involving Iran, which borders Turkey, set the deception plan in motion.
How the plane switch unfolded
Trump had flown to Turkey on a new Boeing 747-8 gifted by Qatar, which was intended to serve as the new Air Force One. Before his departure from Ankara, the administration announced a change of plan: Trump would fly out on the older presidential jet instead, a move officials had attributed to security concerns. Trump himself framed it differently, writing on Truth Social that he would use the older, baby blue Air Force One “for old time’s sake” while the new plane made a separate stop at RAF Mildenhall in Britain so American service members stationed there could tour it.
What the public did not know was that this announcement was itself part of the ruse. Trump boarded the older Air Force One in Ankara in full view of television cameras. Minutes later, he was secretly moved off that plane and onto a third aircraft, an Air Force C-32A, using an airport catering truck typically reserved for loading meals and supplies before flight, a U.S. official told the Post.
All three planes, the older Air Force One, the C-32A carrying Trump and the new Qatari-gifted 747-8, then departed Turkey separately for Britain. The C-32A landed at RAF Mildenhall first, at about 10:20 p.m. local time, with the older Air Force One and its press pool arriving minutes later.
According to the reporting, Trump was then driven from the C-32A to the older Air Force One, boarded through a different entrance and descended the aircraft’s usual upper left side stairs so as to preserve the appearance that he had flown on it the entire time. Trump’s traveling press pool reported he came down those stairs at 10:56 p.m. local time, gave reporters a peace sign without stopping to speak with them, greeted service members on the tarmac and then walked over to the Qatari jet, which CNN reported he ultimately flew home on.
Journalists who believed they were traveling with Trump on the older Air Force One said they were told to keep the window shades in the press cabin closed. The Post reported that beyond the press corps, some White House staff members also believed the president was aboard that flight. Asked later by reporters why the shades had to stay shut, Trump said it was because they were “probably on a dangerous flight.” He added, “But if I go, you go. Right?”
Not the first switch of its kind
The Post noted a precedent for this kind of ruse. In 2000, President Bill Clinton flew into Pakistan aboard an unmarked executive jet while his official Air Force One was sent ahead as a decoy.
White House defends the security plan
Asked about the secret flight, White House communications director Steven Cheung gave the same statement to the Post and to CNN, saying the Qatari-donated plane “has been fitted with high level security protocols that ensure the safety of the president and his staff.” He added, “As the president has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats.”
Source: CNN, Guardian
